Collapsible rim for wheels



E. A, JQNES.

COLLAPSIBLE mm FOR WHEELS.

APPLICATION FILED 9C1" 3. I958.

. Patented Jan. 11, 1921.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

E. A. JONES.

COLLAPSIBLE RXM FOR WHEELS.

APPLICATION men act 3, i9l8.

1 ,364,935, Patented Jan. 11, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 gzidazzoi Jaye/Z6 19%0/265 sition, showing the detailsof EUGENE A. JONES, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

" COLLAPSIBLE RIM FOR WHEELS Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 11. 1921.

Application filed October 3, 1918. Serial No. 256,663.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Bream: A. Jones, acitizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county ofLos Angeles and State of California, have invented a certain new anduseful Improvement in Collapsible Rims for \Vheels, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of tire rims or tire supports,commonly known as collapsible or dcmountablc rims which are commonlyused to carry previously inflated pneumatic tires so that they can bereadily applied to and removed from the wheel proper of a vehicle. suchas an automobile. without its being necessary to go through themanipulations of inflating the tire at the roadside or other point atwhich and when it is necessary to change pneumatic tires.

As is well understood in the art, the pneumatic tire carried by the rimmust at some time be put on and removed from the rim itself, and theobject of this invention is to provide a collapsible rim of very simpleconstruction, which can be easily and cheaply made, which can be easilyand conveniently applied to and removed from the tire. and which is notliable to get out of order when in use. A further object is to providcsuch a device. in which all the tools for nianipu lating the rim arepermanently attached to the rim so that they cannot be lost. as ispossible where separate tools are. required.

The invention consists in a collapsible de vice capable of carrying outthe. foregoing objects, and more particularly one having one or more ofthe many features and details of construction which will be hereaftermore fully set forth in the specification and claims.

Referring to the drawings, in which similar numerals indicate the sameparts throughout the several Views, a

Figure 1 is a side view partially in section, of mechanism illustratingthis invention in its preferred form.

Fig.2 is a perspective View ofthe same mechanism in approximatelyhorizontal pothe collapsing mechanism as they appear on the underside ofthe rim.

Fig.3 is a perspedsive view of the collapsing mechanism showing itsappearance on the outside of the rim.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the parts shown in Fig. 3, separated onefrom the other.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional detail view taken through the center ofthe rim, showing the parts illustrated in Fig. 3 with a tire protectingplate added.

In carrying out this invention, a metallic tire supporting rim havingthe customary side flan es 12 is provided, the same being severedtransversely at least at one point so that there are two ends [4 and 1Gabutting each other in normal position, shown .in Figs. 2 and 3 and thedotted line position of Fig. l. and passing each other somewhat when therim is collapsed, as shown in full line position in Fig. 1. If the rimproper is made of very resilient material so that it can be bentcircumfcrentially so that the ends 14 and 16 move from the dotted lineto the fnllline position of Fig. 1, it is unnecessary to sever the rimat any other point. but in ordinary rinT practice. rims are not made ofsuch exceedingly resilient material. and the device is, therefore, shownherein as applied to a rim cut in three segments or parts 18, 20 and 22.sections 18 and 22 being hinged together and sections 20 and 22 beinghinged together so as to afford a more complete collapsing of the rimwhen the ends14 an 16 of sections 18 and 20 respectively, hereti --rcreferred to. are moved from dotted line 1 laition of Fig. l to the fullline position d beyond.

One feature of the invention consists in the. hinges 2% applied at thepoints heretofore indicated. which are, as clearly shown. so arrangedthat their pivotal bearings 26 are located in recesses Within the bodiesof the bases of the rim section and are sup ported by the adjacent edgesof the segments of the rim, from which it follows that any thrust orstrain transferred from a given section of the rim to the hinge ispassed on to the next section and is not taken up in these pivotalconnections of the hinges. These hinged pivots being thus placed in thebody of the rim also serve as locking blocks in all positions of thehinges to prevent lateral movement of adjacent rim sections withreference to each other as the hinges open under movement of the rimsections.

Vi'hile in actual practice all three sections 18, 20 and 22 may or domove more or less in collapsing the rim, sections 18 and 20 move mostrelatively to each other and will,

therefore, for convenience, be referred to as the movable sections.lhese two sections 18 and 20 each have rig-idly attached to them attheir ends adjacent to the hinges 24, heretofore referred to, coverplates 28 extending over and protectinp the adjacent joint be tween therim sections attached together by a particular hinge. These cover platesserve two purposes; first. that of protecting the tire tube which isultimately to be applied to the rim so that it cannot catch or otherwiseinjuriously engage the space between adjacent rim sections at thatpoint, and second, to act as levers which, when engaged by the inflatedtire on the rim, tend to force the adjacent rim sections 18 and 20toward the normal or dotted line position of Fig. 1 or that of the fullline position of Fig. 3. in other words. this plate 28 between rimsections 18 and 22 serves to rotate section 18 in a counter-clockwisedirection. as viewed in Fig. 1, while plate 28 between sections 20 and22 serves to rotate section 20 in a clockwise direction about its hingepivot 26. this as heretofore explained. under the action of the pressureof air in the pneumatic tire when the tire on the rim isginfiatcd, Ofcourse, this lever action fails to take place when the tire on the rimis deflated.

In order to manipulate the ends 14 and 16 of the movable rim sections inthe manner heretofore referred to, a special tool is providedpermanently attached to the rim sections so that it cannot become lost.This tool, broadly speaking, consists in nothing more than a lever 30usually made of fiat metal, pivoted at its end to one of the movable rimsections, as for instance section 20 i at a substantial distance fromthe end 16,

while the approximate middle of this lever 30 is pivoted to the extremeend 14 of the adjacent movable rim section 18, there being meansprovided for locking the other end ofthe lever 30 adjacent to theundersideof rim section 18.

Going into details, this lever 30 is prov ded with a ivotal connectionto movable section 20 by orming on the end of the lever a T-shaped pivotmember 32 which enters a recess 34: formed for the purpose in the bodyof the base of movable section 20. This pivotal member 32 is held inposition by a plate 36 secured tothe underside of the rim section by anysuitable means, such for instance as screws 38 and by a cover plate 40placed on the outside of the rim section and secured thereto by anysuitable means, as for instance by screws or rivets 42. This cover. sucha size that, as shown, it ex plate is of tends over the abutting ends 14and 16 of the movable rim sections 18 and 20 to provide a. protection atthis point to the tube of the tire tube which is applied to the rim.

The end 14 of section 18 is stamped out at end so as to form an integralcross-bar 46 which acts as a pivot for the central portion -18 of lever30 which is passed around this member 46 in some such manner as thatshown in the drawing, so that when the operator takes hold of thelonger-or normally free end of lever 30 and moves it from dotted line tofull line position of Fig. l, he can, in so doing, force end ll ofmovable. rim Sew tion 18 first downward and then to the rigl1t,'asviewed in Fig. 1, from the dotted line to the full line position. Theand lb of rim section 20 is cut away in notch 5H adapted to receive andengage the bearing bent portion L8 in lever 30 so that when the partsare fitted together. as shown in Fig. I. this central portion -18 of thelever acts as a locking block or wedge to revent trans verse movement ofthe adjacent ends l-i and 16 of the rim sections 18 and 520. The pi\otal joint thus formed by the parts, it and 48, heretofore described. iscovered and protected by the plate 40, heretofore described.

The longer handle or free end of lever ll! is adapted to be detachablylocked against the underside of rim section lb whenever the parts are inthe dotted line position of Fig. l, by any suitable. means, as forinstance the button device 52 pivoted at 54.

In the operation of the device, assume that it has been manufactured andput together and that it is desired to apply a tire thereto. The partsare first moved. to approximately the full line position of Fig. 1, inwhich position the rim is collapsed and the proper size tire can befitted over it. The operator then takes hold of the free end of lever 30and swings it to the left as viewed in Fig. 1 until all of the partsassume the dotted line position of that figure and the full lineposition of Figs. 2 and 5. In this position the rim is locked inexpanded position, whereupon the operator inflates the tire which is nowupon the rim, and it is ready for use. When, for an reason, it isdesired to remove the tire, to operations just described are reversed.

Attention is called to the fact that the device is one which can bereadily used in convertin old continuous rims into collapsible rims, itbeing uanly necessary to saw such rims across at the necessary point orpoints and attach the lever mechanism necessary xhinges to convert itinto a collapsible rim. In fact the tool 30 and the hinges can be soldto garage men and other competent mechanics or conversion of old rimsinto collapsible rims without sending said rims to a factory at all.

The lever 30 is so located and arran ed that the necessary power can bea -plie to it to move the rim parts as escribad, against considerableadhesion of the tire, 1; us tearing the rim out from inside the tirewithout the use of ordinary tire tools.

'I he term permanently pivoted is used 30 and the i in the claims not toindicate that the parts of the rim cannot he taken apart. hut that thelever is under normal conditions a pen manent part of the structure andis not removed and taken away every time the rim is moved from normal tocollapsed position and vice vcrsa.

llavinggthus descrihed my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure hy Letters lateut. is z 1. demountahle rim made by taltin acircular suhstantiall} unperforated metallic tire riiu. severing ittransversely in a single plane at one point initially unpio vided withpivoting pre mrations selected at random in its circumt'erence to formtwo abutting rim ends capahle of movement one past the other andapplying across the line of severance an operating lever cont'orminp: incurvature to that of the rim and normally l ving along. its innercircumt'en encc. this in comhination with means permanently pivoting thelever at a point intermediate hetween its ends to one rim endimmediately adjacent to the line of severauce and with means permanentlyi ting: the end of the lever which is adjacent to the other rim end at apoint on said rim end remote from the line oi severance. portions oi thelever about one ot said pivots enter ing a recess formed in the liodv ofthe rim to aid in preventin; side movement of the rim ends. for thepurposes set forth.

2. den'iountahle rim made hy taking a circular substantiallynnpertorated metallic tire rim. severing it transverselv in a singleplane at ou point initially unpro vided with pivoting preparationsselected at random in its circuint'erence to form two ahutting rim endscapahle of movement one past the other and :t|)]')i \'lll across theline of severance an operating lever conforming in curvature to that oithe rim and normally l ving alon its inner circuniI'ereucc. this incomhination with mean permanently pivotingr the lever at a pointintermediate he tween its ends to one rim end innnediately adjacenttothe lineot severance and with means permanently pinning" the end ofthe lever which is adjacent to the other rim end at a point on said rimend remote from the line of severance. portions oi the lever ahout oneof said pivots entering a rece s formed in the hody of the rim to id inpreventing side movement oi the rim end. and a latch device fordetachahlv securing the opposite end of the lever to the rim end towhich the middle of the lever is pivoted.

3. A demountahleirim niadelhy talking a circularsubstantiallyunpertoratetl metallic tire rim, severing it transverselyin a single plane at one point selected at random in its circumferenceto form two ahutting rim ends capable of movement onh past the other andapplying across the line of severance an operating" lever conforming incurvature to that oi the rim and normally lying along its innercircunit'erem-e. this in comhination with means permanently pivoting theiever at a point intermediate between its end to one rim cud immediatelyatljacent to the line of severance. and with means permanently pivotingthe end of the lever which is innnediateiy adjacent to the other rim endat a point on said rim end remote from the line of severance. portionsof the lever ahout said last mentioned pivot entering recesses formed inthe body of the rim on both sides of the line of severance to aid inpreventing side movement of the rim ends. for the purposes vset forth.

4. In a device of the class described. a collapsible rim of normallycircular form, a section of relatively short but of appreciahle lengthsevered from the rim. a hinge het ween one end of the severed sectionand the main rim. and a plate upon the end of the severed sectionoverlapping the hinge and the main sect ion adapted to he eneagi ed hythe tire which is to he applied to the rim to act as a lever tending torestore and hold the severed section to normal position in which the rimis circular.

5. In a device of the class descrihed. a collapsihlc rim of normallycircular form. divided into three sections. hinges at the points ofjuncture. hetween one section and each of two other sections. a levercohnec tion at the point of juncture of said hther two sections adaptedto move the end oi one section past the end of the other. and means forlocking said lever in the position which it assumes when said last menmed sections are in such position that the rim is: in normal eircula rposition. plates upon said other two sections overlapping theintermediate section to which they are attacheih.adapted to he engagedhy the tire which is to he applied to the rim. and act as leverstttiling: to restore and hold said other two sections" to normalposition in which the rim is circular.

(i. in a collapsihle rim. two rim sections whose ends ahut each other insubstantially one plane transverse to the rim and are movahle one pastthe other. a lever pivoted to cent to the point of juncture of the rimsec-, tions and pivoted to the other section at at point remotetherefrom. a permanent hinge hearing For said first pivotal connectionon said iever so constructed that portions of the lever ahout the pivottit into recesses formed in the two adjacent ends of said rim sectionsand thus serve as a block to prevent crosswise movement of the rimsections one to the other. and locking: means for. vhen tlit u 'imsections are in alinement. detacllahly securing; the lever in positionwith reference. to the rim so that the parts may act (lescrihed. for thepurposes set forth.

plane tronsH-rse partly past the 5 the eelions hingei that the Pnl'timmember of the the main body utileh a lever is of the lever two sectionsto the rim and movable one for so moving 1 to one section so locatedabout the pivot hinge are embedded within of both rim sections ad acentto said plane of severance.

whir-h would otherwise sertion upon said hinge reetly to the oppositerim sect-ion,

forth purposes set whereby strain be exerted by either is transmitted difor the H. In iliBillfllllSlli oi the class described. :1

i5 pair of adjacent arable one from the other, a

ber -16 formed trunsvers substantially its end, a end oi the inherentsermon,

2Q lever provided r embracwith p pivot mg said pivo abutting rimsections sepbearing memely of one seetion at recess 50 out in the anoperating forming memtal bearing 46 and lying in said recess 50, meanspivoting one end of said lever to the rim section in which said recess50 is formed, and means for detachably securing said lever to the othersection, for the purposes set forth.

9. As an article of inanufavtnre. a lever for use in the art describedoonsisting of a single thiekness of flat metal, bent near its middle toform three sides of the bearing -member 48 and provided at one end withan integral T-shaped pivotal hinge bearing member 32, all arranged asshown and described, for the purposes set forth.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence oftwo witnesses.

